WARNING: Major spoilers for Uncharted and Tomb Raider games ahead. Proceed at your own risk.In a recent interview with Buzzfeed, Naughty Dog co-president Neil Druckmann talked about the future of theUnchartedfranchise. While there was still so much room for sequels, prequels, and spin-offs,Druckmann stated that the studio was done withUnchartedfor the foreseeable future. Nathan Drake, once a rogue adventurer, has finally settled in and found his happy ending. The future of theTomb Raiderfranchise, on the other hand, is up in the air.
After the relatively successful release of 2018’sShadow Of The Tomb Raiderby Eidos Montreal and Square Enix Europe, Crystal Dynamics has once again regained the rights to Lara Croft and her future adventures. Seeing the gap in the gaming industry left byUnchartedand the 10th anniversary of the beginning of the Survivor trilogy (the rebooted games that delve into Lara’s origins),Tomb Raidercould easily take its crown back as the definitive archeological, action-adventure franchise.
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Where Uncharted and Tomb Raider Games Ended
Setting aside theside story that wasUncharted: The Lost Legacy, the mainlineUnchartedtitles ended withUncharted 4: A Thief’s End. After defeating evil businessman and aspiring treasure hunter Rafe Adler and escaping the hectic life he and his brother Sam led, Nathan Drake was finally able to settle in with Elena and their daughter, Cassie. While Nate and Elena still go adventuring, they do so legally by means of Elena’s revived exploration show. Nate, Elena, Cassie, and the rest of theUnchartedcast still have a lot of potential stories that can be told, butUncharted 4: A Thief’s Endis as good a send-off as any for the franchise.
Lara Croft’s story after the Survivor trilogy is only just beginning. Having sacrificed Kulkulkan’s spirit and stopped the Mayan apocalypse known as the Cleansing, Lara can be seen plotting her next adventure from the confines ofCroft Manor. She realizes now that she has to protect the world’s mysteries rather than solve them, and lives with a newfound purpose as the franchise’s titular tomb raider. There is a lot more to explore in terms of story.
Lara is known for going on multiple escapades, not all of which are interconnected with one another. These adventures can take place between Lara’s origins and the older games or be set at a much later time. More modernTomb Raideradventures would help show Lara’s growth and maturity as a person, and it would also be nice to catch up with old characters like Jonah and Etzi to see how they are doing.
New Tomb Raider Games Could Improve On Past Titles And The Uncharted Franchise
While the more recentTomb Raidergames gave theUnchartedfranchise a run for its money, it didn’t really innovate the action-adventure genre. Thestorytelling in the Survivor trilogyis quite predictable and makes players feel like they are watching retreads of familiar Hollywood movies. The gameplay also features standard action-adventure elements like third-person shooting, platforming, stealth, and puzzle-solving. The trilogy did attempt to shake things up with light RPG elements, hunting, a crafting system, and even a few multiplayer modes, but these were all very shallow and didn’t add that much to the coreTomb Raiderexperience.
If Crystal Dynamics wants the newTomb Raidergames to stand out, it has to trim a lot of the unnecessary elements from past games and make adventuring feel unique and fun again. This means removing things like quick time events, tacked-on multiplayer modes, and handheld puzzle sequences.Tomb Raidershould be focusing on exploration instead, as it is at the core of the franchise. Considering how modernadventure games likeGod of War: Ragnaroktend to make discovery less relevant,Tomb Raidercan tap into players' sense of discovery by making them feel smart and rewarding them after they solve the games' more challenging puzzles.
It’s one thing to sayTomb Raidercan become theDark Soulsof adventure games and another for the franchise to reach its full potential. But withUnchartedout of the picture and no foreseeable archeological action-adventure games coming out,Tomb Raidermight finally be able to shine again.
The nextTomb Raidergame is currently in development.
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